Apnea during slow sub-anaesthetic infusion of intravenous ketamine for treatment-resistant depression
Marcos Gómez‐revuelta, María Fernández-Rodríguez, Laura Boada-Antón, Javier Vázquez-Bourgon
Therapeutic Advances in Psychopharmacology 2020 DOI: 10.1177/2045125320981498 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Case study Case report Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Intervention | Ketamine |
| Topics | Depression Esketamine Ketamine |
| Key findings | The authors report a case of apnea during a slow sub-anaesthetic intravenous ketamine infusion for treatment-resistant depression, which they describe as an uncommon, previously unreported, and potentially severe adverse event. They argue that clinicians should be aware of this risk and that specific management measures and systematic monitoring and reporting of adverse events are needed before ketamine is used clinically for depression. |
Abstract
Ketamine’s pharmacological profile makes it an interesting and useful drug to challenge treatment-resistant-depression (TRD). Emerging adverse events associated with single-slow-sub-anaesthetic doses for the treatment of depression are common, although generally transient and self-limited. Nevertheless, data on the safety of this practice are scarce. Thus, it seems timely before ketamine is used for clinical treatment of depression to recommend careful monitoring and reporting of all potential adverse events related to ketamine administration. Here, we describe a case of apnea during slow sub-anaesthetic infusion of intravenous ketamine for the treatment of resistant depression. As far as we are concerned, this is an uncommon, previously unreported, and potentially severe adverse event that clinicians should be aware of, and specific management measures should be implemented.
Comparable studies
Other case reports and case series on ketamine for depression, most cited first.